Kosher Cocktail

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September 14, 2023

Two cocktails, bright ref in color sit in wine glasses and are garnished with lemon round, pomegranate arils, and mint leaves

Look no further for a delectable and invigorating cocktail recipe compliant with kosher regulations. From Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to Sukkot and Chanukah and finally into Passover, the holiday season is upon us and an ideal time to pour a few libations in celebration. (Although we won’t judge if you imbibe in this kosher cocktail all other times of the year.)

What Makes Food Kosher?

Kosher is a term used to describe food that adheres to Jewish dietary rules. In addition to which animals can be eaten, there are rules for how the animal is slaughtered and how the meat should be prepared.

Kosher laws prohibit the mixing of meat and dairy products in a meal. The process of certifying food as kosher involves inspections of the ingredients, production facilities, and equipment to ensure they meet strict standards. The aim of kosher laws is to promote a healthy and ethical lifestyle while maintaining a connection to Jewish traditions.

What Makes a Drink Kosher?

For a drink to be kosher, any alcohol used must be produced from kosher ingredients, and any additives or flavorings used cannot contain non-kosher ingredients. Additionally, the production facilities and equipment used to create the drink must be inspected to ensure they meet kosher standards. Overall, the same principles and processes that apply to certifying food as kosher also apply to certifying drinks as kosher. A note: Not all bourbon is kosher. You can kind a list of kosher bourbons online, however.

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Kosher Cocktail

Author: Judah Cowen

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Description

A recipe everyone can enjoy.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cocktail

3 oz fresh lemon juice
3 oz pomegranate juice
1 oz mint simple syrup (recipe below)
2 oz bourbon

For the Simple Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1.5 cups chopped fresh mint

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For the Cocktail

Combine all liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 2 minutes until chilly cold. Pour into martini glass. Garnish your kosher cocktail with the rind of the lemon and pomegranate arils.

For the Simple Syrup

Mix water and sugar together in pot on medium heat, simmer until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat, and add mint leaves.
Let seep for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Recipe by Judah Cowen, Elegant Edge Catering Company
Photography and Styling by Keith Recker

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7 Questions with Canadian Photographer Donna Griffith

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Jordan Snowden

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September 14, 2023

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In interviews with five photographers from the United States and Canada, Mark Oppenheimer explores an essential element of 21^st-century visual culture: the food photo. Whether taken by a professional with an expensive lens and a support team, or by a passionate amateur wielding a smartphone, images of food abound in our world. Settle in for a good read about what motivates the pros, and what they think makes their work not just good, but deliciously transformative.

Donna Griffith

Donna Griffith is an award-winning Canadian photographer known for capturing the beauty and essence of interior design, architecture, and food. Working with top designers, architects, and chefs, her images have been featured in House & Home, Style at Home, Canadian Living, and more.

How do you feel about the Instagramification of food photography?

I feel like there are too many images in the world right now. Everybody is out there with a camera photographing their meals–it lessens their specialness.

How do you approach a food shot differently than a portrait?

Food doesn’t talk back. When you’re working with food, you pretty much control everything, although there will be times some food doesn’t want to behave and things melt or wilt.

What gives a shot honesty and authenticity?

I like to show that even if there’s not a hand or a person in the shot, there is a human being there. And that’s why a bit of mess, a bit of crumbs, makes it much more appetizing; it looks real. It is a little tricky to achieve because you can’t just make a mess. It has to be constructed, carefully placed, and styled.

Even if they aren’t visible, what is the “people” part of the food shot?

I hope all of my shots create that warmth of having a meal with friends or family. Sharing food is a connecting factor for our well-being and how we show love. That is how I would prefer my work to be seen.

How have the little failures or defeats you’ve experienced shaped you?

They have made me challenge myself, to experiment a little more, to take a few more creative risks. The little failures teach you that anything can fail. Even if you’ve got everything laid out just so, it could fail. So, you need to step beyond that.

Describe the practice you turn to when a shot is proving difficult?

I have a button pinned on my bulletin board by my desk that says “PLAY.” If I’m stuck on something, I just look at the button to remind myself to loosen up and be playful.

What do you think is the relationship between the food you shoot and the food we eat?

What I shoot is usually a little elevated from the everyday, though I prefer to shoot food that is delicious and attainable and doable for the average person. We try to present it as something you can do at home for yourself.

Story by Mark Oppenheimer / Photography by Donna Griffith

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The Work of Pittsburgh-based Artist Clayton Merrell Breathes Harmony and Chaos

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Jordan Snowden

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September 14, 2023

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Painter Clayton Merrell combines the physical and the metaphysical in paintings that are contemplative and complex.

The Work of Pittsburgh-based Artist Clayton Merrell Breathes Harmony and Chaos

This Carnegie Mellon University professor of art has been creating since the late 1980s. He grew up outside of Pittsburgh, left for about 10 years, and has had his own studio since returning in 2000.

Merrell makes landscape paintings that encompass both the beauty and tragedy of the natural world. “I see my work as an attempt to create something like an honest contemporary landscape idiom,” he says. “Instead of simplistic picturesque tableaus of natural harmony, my work presents viewers with a world in which that harmony is undermined by conflict, order is complicated by chaos, and the delicate fabric of the natural world is stretched to the breaking point.” He wants to make a painting that conveys how beautiful our world is—and how broken. “I want them to be the same painting,” he says.

Merrell previously designed the terrazzo floor for the Pittsburgh Airport airside terminal. Subsequently, he completed the design for a terrazzo floor in the Teresa Heinz Rotunda in CMU’s Heinz College.

“The design will create the illusion that the floor is an evening sky with time-lapse star paths arcing across it,” he explains.

He loves the sense of freedom and open-ended possibility experienced every time he starts a new painting. “I love that the results of that solitary work turn into heartfelt human interaction when other people want to spend time with those paintings,” he adds.

Merrell is represented by Concept Art Gallery in Regent Square. His work can be purchased online through Singulart and Saatchi Art.

Story by Corinne Whiting / Photography by Laura Petrilla

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Punch Drunk Negroni

By

Jordan Snowden

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September 13, 2023

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A cocktail orange in color sits in a rocks glass, garnished by a strawberry. Punch Drunk Negroni Cocktail Recipe

Heads up! Take it easy on this Negroni recipe, or you may end up like the cocktail’s name: punch drunk. Traditionally speaking, the Negroni has equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet red vermouth and is always garnished with an orange wheel. This recipe calls for all the ingredients of a classic Negroni, but a fruity simple syrup and a bit of brut champagne make the Punch Drunk cocktail all too easy to drink. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

Which Kind of Vermouth Should You Use For Your Negroni Cocktail?

For a Negroni cocktail, you want a well-balanced vermouth that is neither too soft nor too robust. The Goldilocks “just right” of vermouths, if you will. Some brands to consider are Cinzano Rosso, Hotel Starlino, or Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, or what we used in the Punch Drunk Negroni, Carpano Antica Formula. We felt this would pair best with the strawberry rhubarb simple syrup as a red vermouth with a richness and depth of character that stands up well to other ingredients. The champagne top means you need something that won’t get watered down, so a strong vermouth is a must.

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